TNF-α converting enzyme (TACE) catalyzes the formation of TNF-α from membrane bound TNF-α precursor protein. TNF-α is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that is believed to have a role in rheumatoid arthritis [Shire, M. G.; Muller, G. W. Exp. Opin. Ther. Patents 1998, 8(5), 531; Grossman, J. M.; Brahn, E. J. Women's Health 1997, 6(6), 627; Isomaki, P.; Punnonen, J. Ann. Med. 1997, 29, 499; Camussi, G.; Lupia, E. Drugs, 1998, 55(5), 613.] septic shock [Mathison, et. al. J. Clin. Invest. 1988, 81, 1925; Miethke, et. al. J. Exp. Med. 1992, 175, 91.], graft rejection [Piguet, P. F.; Grau, G. E.; et. al. J. Exp. Med. 1987, 166, 1280.], cachexia [Beutler, B.; Cerami, A. Ann. Rev. Biochem. 1988, 57, 505.], anorexia, inflammation [Ksontini, R,; MacKay, S. L. D.; Moldawer, L. L. Arch. Surg. 1998, 133, 558.], congestive heart failure [Packer, M. Circulation, 1995, 92(6), 1379; Ferrari, R.; Bachetti, T.; et. al. Circulation, 1995, 92(6), 1479.], post-ischaemic reperfusion injury, inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, inflammatory bowel disease, insulin resistance [Hotamisligil, G. S.; Shargill, N. S.; Spiegelman, B. M.; et. al. Science, 1993, 259, 87.] and HIV infection [Peterson, P. K.; Gekker, G.; et. al. J. Clin. Invest. 1992, 89, 574; Pallares-Trujillo, J.; Lopez-Soriano, F. J. Argiles, J. M. Med. Res. Reviews, 1995, 15(6), 533.]], in addition to its well-documented antitumor properties [Old, L. Science, 1985, 230, 630.]. For example, research with anti-TNF-α antibodies and transgenic animals has demonstrated that blocking the formation of TNF-α inhibits the progression of arthritis [Rankin, E. C.; Choy, E. H.; Kassimos, D.; Kingsley, G. H.; Sopwith, A. M.; Isenberg, D. A.; Panayi, G. S. Br. J. Rheumatol. 1995, 34, 334; Pharmaprojects, 1996, Therapeutic Updates 17 (October), au197-M2Z.]. This observation has recently been extended to humans as well as described in “TNF-α in Human Diseases”, Current Pharmaceutical Design, 1996, 2, 662.
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of enzymes that have been implicated in the pathological destruction of connective tissue and basement membranes. These zinc containing endopeptidases consist of several subsets of enzymes including collagenases, stromelysins and gelatinases. Of these classes, the gelatinases have been shown to be the MMPs most intimately involved with the growth and spread of tumors. It is known that the level of expression of gelatinase is elevated in malignancies, and that gelatinase can degrade the basement membrane which leads to tumor metastasis. Angiogenesis, required for the growth of solid tumors, has also recently been shown to have a gelatinase component to its pathology. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that gelatinase is involved in plaque rupture associated with atherosclerosis. Other conditions mediated by MMPs are restenosis, MMP-mediated osteopenias, inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system, skin aging, tumor growth, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, corneal ulceration, abnormal wound healing, bone disease, proteinuria, aneurysmal aortic disease, degenerative cartilage loss following traumatic joint injury, demyelinating diseases of the nervous system, cirrhosis of the liver, glomerular disease of the kidney, premature rupture of fetal membranes, inflammatory bowel disease, periodontal disease, age related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, ocular inflammation, keratoconus, Sjogren's syndrome, myopia, ocular tumors, ocular angiogenesis/neo-vascularization and corneal graft rejection. For recent reviews, see: (1) Recent Advances in Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitor Research, R. P. Beckett, A. H. Davidson, A. H. Drummond, P. Huxley and M. Whittaker, Research Focus, Vol. 1, 16-26, (1996), (2) Curr. Opin. Ther. Patents (1994) 4(1): 7-16, (3) Curr. Medicinal Chem. (1995) 2: 743-762, (4) Exp. Opin. Ther. Patents (1995) 5(2): 1087-110, (5) Exp. Opin. Ther. Patents (1995) 5(12): 1287-1196: (6) Exp. Opin. Ther. Patents (1998) 8(3): 281-259.
It is expected that small molecule inhibitors of TACE would have the potential for treating a variety of disease states. Although a variety of TACE inhibitors are known, many of these molecules are peptidic and peptide-like which suffer from bioavailability and pharmacokinetic problems. In addition, many of these molecules are non-selective, being potent inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases and, in particular, MMP-1. Inhibition of MMP-1 (collagenase 1) has been postulated to cause joint pain in clinical trials of MMP inhibitors [Scrip, 1998, 2349, 20] Long acting, selective, orally bioavailable non-peptide inhibitors of TACE would thus be highly desirable for the treatment of the disease states discussed above.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,455,258, 5,506,242, 5,552,419, 5,770,624, 5,804,593, and 5,817,822 as well as European patent application EP606,046A1 and WIPO international publications WO9600214 and WO9722587 disclose non-peptide inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases and/or TACE of which the aryl sulfonamide hydroxamic acid shown below is representative. Additional publications disclosing sulfonamide based MMP inhibitors which are variants of the sulfonamide-hydroxamate shown below, or the analogous sulfonamide-carboxylates, are European patent applications EP-757037-A1 and EP-757984-A1 and WIPO international publications WO9535275, WO9535276, WO9627583, WO9719068, WO9727174, WO9745402, WO9807697, WO9831664, WO9833768, WO9839313, WO9839329, WO9842659 and WO9843963. The discovery of this type of MMP inhibitor is further detailed by MacPherson, et. al. in J. Med. Chem., 1997, 40, 2525 and Tamura, et al., in J. Med. Chem. 1998, 41, 640.

Publications disclosing β-sulfonamide-hydroxamate inhibitors of MMPs and/or TACE in which the carbon alpha to the hydroxamic acid has been joined in a ring to the sulfonamide nitrogen, as shown below, include U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,653, WIPO international publications WO9633172, WO9720824, WO9827069, WO9808815, WO9808822, WO9808823, WO9808825, WO9834918, WO9808827, Levin, et. al. Bioorg. & Med. Chem. Letters 1998, 8, 2657 and Pikul, et. al. J. Med. Chem. 1998, 41, 3568.

The patent applications DE19,542,189-A1, WO9718194, and EP803505 disclose additional examples of cyclic sulfonamides as MMP and/or TACE inhibitors. In this case the sulfonamide-containing ring is fused to a aromatic or heteroaromatic ring.

Examples of sulfonamide hydroxamic acid MMP/TACE inhibitors in which a 2 carbon chain separates the hydroxamic acid and the sulfonamide nitrogen, as shown below, are disclosed in WIPO international publications WO9816503, WO9816506, WO9816514 and WO9816520.

Analogous to the sulfonamides are the phosphinic acid amide hydroxamic acid MMP/TACE inhibitors, exemplified by the structure below, which have been disclosed in WIPO international publication WO9808853.

Sulfonamide MMP/TACE inhibitors in which a thiol is the zinc chelating group, as shown below, have been disclosed in WIPO international application 9803166.
It is an object of this invention to provide aryl sulfonamide hydroxamic acid MMP/TACE inhibitors in which the sulfonyl aryl group is para-substituted with a substituted allenic moiety.